Trap for catching animals alive



I July 4, 1933. w. A. GIBBS 1,917,111

TRAP FOR CATCHING ANIMALS ALIVE Filed Nov. 7. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 4, 1933.

W. A. GIBBS TRAP FOR CATCHING ANIMAL'S ALIVE Filed Nov. '7, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 4,1933. w. A. GIBBS TRAP FOR CATCHING ANIMALS ALIVE Filed Nov. 7. 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 {In the ti-a-p'p'mg 01 animals, 1

.; twice "of ahd "has relatively few eo sider'ihg; "its natureandintendedpeppose fl 'sirabLe mot t9 kill or in'aim the animal caught,

1' venting drowning. deviceeonstruct'ed in aeceid'ance j wlthf'mygl n ven tlon traps the any "*malfiiri 1:1 m a nnerl't'o pre erve lt freefrom 'bedily. 3 harm "6r ififjfirly; a n d simulta jeeti'sjly I with the traPpin'gfOf tl nn imal, the devle lifts the animal and-holds it suspended above the "ground at a siibs'tantial distarice fl em the positien o fftheset"trapf g Tn accordance wlth my mventiori; ,1 pro- Vick: 2% that-15 eo'mpr i sih'g'fa 'paifof relatively movable pring-ope fated jaws and a net M tachec'i thereto which will 'fe-n'velep] the? afii-j I jm al-iwi'lhen the trap is-sprun'g andthe jam S *e'lese. ,Thetr'zip-is earriect by onelof'a pair] relatively 'moy'zthlem spring-bpfenated: frames, the other ofsiidfra-mes serving as t 30 thehase for fllQdViCei The-devicefufther' .ani'maksteps upon dfcliturb's the tre adle.

1 The construction and ,(iperationj of spe-- 'ci-fie embodiment of my invention- WilI; be f Clearly :underst'oodl fr em the-following 'c1'e-' tailed despription "when read gin lednn 'eetiqn iwitlhtheztecompanyihg drawingsg ;p"

' In the drawings :2

1 is at yie'w shewing elevatidnthe my inventlon released or s rung 5 Fizg. 2%isaap1an viewbfjthedevi ce of F-i I w-Refer ingwo theflfsever tlf Views; ty-the drawings; pia-rticuitarly to; Figs. 1 and-{2,

v the; deviceaeomprisexa base ay take I the form of L rigid str ipoflhetal bemt inithe' 55 mZlEIi'Ili-x. shavtn 2; and havinglits ends 3 ANIMA'IS'A 'WE t is often deg] Furthefmcirefih the easeof WateT-i11habit -j: 'ing fmimals it "is desirable to lift the animal} 1 bdd ily; after it has been trapped; from the; "waterino'ider to p'rese'rve itsilife rby pre 1me one ehd formedto provide pivqt'al poi-#490 comprises means for? latching the in set position to rende'r'the "sprin means-lim emtive: A 'treadleprovidctfiwhich;isf adaipted t0 eperate rthlatch meansforfjre 35 leasingthe 'ehements'fef' the device'whenan hea th; rod

for ta "gnaw-jaw 22=ajnd a mqti'ablei v I wemayeaehbe;fiormedofa singte 'nof "aS fii etS-Q, "Thebase isfoffiled in the man-[f 3 t.

a short 'stripfofmetal havingoneend inserb1 t ed threugh. theiopening membeffi fandi benttowfa-stenit tothe'sgidlmemberg Itfwill, 1"

'tate ivomny about the end of-farm 6i 't 0 -f0rm a rigidf'attalchmenh A lever 11;;

tiens' Bland"I3 Whichare-adapted tqfit-over sheu-Iders 9 and lO-,' tothefeby pivotallyniount v leverfl l"uponjmember 8. This lever carries g.

{st-its ether end aftr-ea'dle 14: which may"be jgttv v inched" l theretei'in zp'ny fsuitable "manner, {Shah 1 5 4 I i as b ri've-t "A catchfil5 i sattached'tq lever 'l-l by riv'ets 01 the-like, and is adapted mm eeivje'tbngue 5 to hold "the device in its I set the frame may he{movided with; aopenin s H strip 19g 1whj1 the, other endi extends. i b eistrip of rigid metal bent in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 2. The fixed jaw has its ends bent as at 241 (see Fig. 1), and the ends are rigidly attached to frame 18 by means of rivets or the like. and 26 are attached to the arms of the stationary jaw in any suitable manner, such as by means of rivets.

A pair of rods 27 and 28 pass through openings in the yokes and in the ends of jaws of the trap, the ends of these rods being fiat tened to hold them in position. It will be clearly apparent that, by means of this construction, the movable jaw of the trap is pivotally attached to the stationary jaw. A pair of hook members 29 and 30 are attached in any suitable manner to the arms of the movable j aw. A pair of coiled springs 31 and 32 are wound upon rods 27 and 28, respectively. One end of each of these springs extends beneath the corresponding yoke, while the other end extends beneath the corresponding hook member on the movable jaw of the trap.

From the above description and the showing of the drawings, it will be apparent that springs 31 and 32 function to urge the movable jaw of the trap toward the stationary jaw to thereby close the same. A net envelop 38 is attached to the jaws of the trap,

and may comprise a plurality, of parallel chains having spaced cross links to provide the desired net. The net may, however, be made of any suitable material and in any suitable manner. The outer links of the net may be attached to the jaws of the trap by means of spaced openings around the jaws. It will also be apparent that springs 20 and 21 function to move the frame 18 relative to base 1. Due to the special construction of base 1, a small closure or space 34 is provided, and a stake or other suitable instrument may be inserted through this closure and driven into the ground to prevent the tipping over of the deviceduring its operation. It is also important to note that the long rod 17 also functions to prevent the tip ping over of the device. 7

Assuming that .it is desired to set the device of Figs. 1 and 2, the base of the device is then placed over the movable jaw of the trap. and the transverse end strip of frame 18 (see Fig. and is inserted beneath the catch 15. This raises the treadle 1 1 slightly and, at the same time, locks frame 18 to base 1 and holds the movable jaw open. 7 It willabe noted that in this position, the treadle lies beneath the net of the trap.

Assuming now that an animal steps upon the tre adle,or disturbs it in any other man- A pair of yokes 25' ner, movement of the treadle releases tongue 5 from the latch. This releases both the movable jaw of the trap and also the entire assembly carried by frame 18. The jaws of the trap snap shut to completely envelop the animal and, at the same time, springs 20 and 21 move frame 18 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thereby bodily lifting the animal which is held in the trap in the position shown until its removal is desired.

It will be apparent that the device of my invention is simple in construction but, at the same time, performs its intended functions in a highly efiicient and desirable manner. Due to its simplicity, it is easily adjusted and the parts thereof are not apt to be displaced or get out of order. The device is also relatively light in weight and may be transported from place to place very readily. While I have disclosed herein a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that various changes and modifications may be made.

For example, the particular material out of which the various parts are made may be changed, if desired. Likewise, the manner in which the various parts are fastened together may be readily modified. It is, therefore, understood, that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and is not a limitation upon the invention.

I claim:

1. In a device of the type described, a base, a frame pivotally mounted on said base, a trap carried by said frame, means for moving said frame relative to said base, and common means for holding said trap open and for rendering said first means inoperative until said device is sprung.

2. In a device of the type described, a base, a frame pivotally mounted on said base, a trap carried by said frame, spring means for moving said frame relative to said base, and

common latch means for holding said trap open and for rendering said first means inoperative until said device is sprung.

3. In a device of the type described, a base, a trap pivotally carried on a pivot rod by said base, and means including the pivot rod for preventing said device from overturning during movement of said trap.

4;. In a device of the type described, a base, a trap comprising a pair of relatively movable aws and a net carried by said base,

means on said base for latching said trap open, and means disposed beneath said net for releasing said latching means to spring said trap.

5. In a device of the type described, a base, a trap comprising a pair of relatively movable jaws and a net carried by said base, means on said base for latching said trap open, and a treadle disposed beneath said net i for releasing said latching means to spring said trap. I

. .WALTER A. GIBBS. 

